


aeternum vale

by kidcorvid



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Order 66, obi wan is anakin's padawan, padawan swap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-27 20:49:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21125042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kidcorvid/pseuds/kidcorvid
Summary: there are only corpses where children once ran.





	aeternum vale

**Author's Note:**

> _aeternum vale: farewell forever._
> 
> just to make it clear, obi-wan is anakin's padawan. anakin's about 37-ish?? i didn't think about age logistics too hard

obi-wan kenobi, 17 years old, Jedi, stands stock still in the middle of a dead temple and wonders why he didn’t see this coming.

before, the Jedi temple had always been a golden nexus of light and energy. the temple was built to channel the Force, and that it did well. the halls themselves rang with serenity. the combined energy of thousands of jedi had always made the temple radiant, and the sensation was an incredible one.

there is no light now. the only thing the temple channels now is darkness, slithering cold and acidic against his mind.

before, the temple was bustling with life. younglings often ran through the corridors, followed by harried creche masters. amused knights and masters stood out of their way, fondly remembering years long gone. padawans attended their studies, and knights tested themselves against each other in the training salles.

there are only corpses where children once ran.

before, he did not notice his master’s ever-darkening aura and temper. he did not fear the Senate’s unpredictable whims, allowing the fate of the war to be decided by those who had not seen an inch of combat. there were no sleepless nights wondering if he’d ever see anything but darkness in the galaxy’s future.

but that was before, and this is now.

all obi-wan can hear is his own footsteps echoing across vast halls, too empty, too silent. he carefully steps around countless corpses of children and adults alike, and tries his best not to cry. the stench of death is nearly unbearable, but the _feeling _is worse. the force still echoes with the dying screams of thousands, their pain and suffering clawing at obi-wan’s mind. he feels nearly sick with grief.

he purposefully ignores how certain bodies have burn marks characteristic of lightsabers rather than blasters. he does not think about who said lightsaber might belong to, and he certainly doesn’t think about yellow eyes where there were once bright blue.

cautiously, obi-wan picks his way up to the council chambers. if anyone had survived this, they would be there. the journey is slow going, for every few feet he is assaulted by another traumatic moment preserved in the force, the deaths still ringing fresh and bloody. he can feel every blaster shot, every saber cut, every inch of pain these Jedi experienced as they died. he probably should have had a breakdown by now. however, there are too many dead to mourn and too few to mourn with to stop.

after an hour of seeing hundreds of Jedi die hundreds of times over, he finally reaches the council chambers. they’re locked, which gives obi-wan a fleeting sense of hope but - he senses nothing behind the door.

he stops, and questions if he really wants to open this door. the answer is no, of course, but that’s not an option.

it takes obi-wan about 5 minutes to correctly remember master windu’s passcode to open the door. by then, his sense of dread is overwhelming. the force is screaming at him to _stop, turn back, nothing but pain lies ahead, child._

“I can’t,” he whispers, and opens the door.

the stench is the first thing that greets him. the odor of day-long corpses is almost strong enough to send obi-wan to his knees. he barely stays standing. the dark is second. the dark side swirls like a malevolent beast in this room, so different from undercurrent lurking throughout the rest of the temple. maybe it’s because the council chambers are designed to channel the force better than most of the temple. obi-wan suspects otherwise. something happened here, something so much worse than –

third, he notices the bodies.

force, they were _children._

he cannot stop his knees from buckling now, cannot stop the tears streaming down his face. he cannot – does not – want to believe what his mind is logically telling him, cannot face what has become of the man he once called brother.

the silence knows, and says nothing.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! kudos/comments very appreciated c:


End file.
